Acornsoft was the software arm of

Acorn Computers Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the United Kingdom, UK, including the Acorn Electron and the Acorn Archi ...

, and a major publisher of software for the

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

and

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...

. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and utility packages – these included word processor ''VIEW'' and the spreadsheet ''

ViewSheet ViewSheet is a spreadsheet program produced in the 1980s by Acornsoft for use with the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron microcomputers. It was distributed as a pre-installed Read-only memory, ROM with some computer models, such as the BBC Master, Mast ...

'' supplied on ROM and cartridge for the

and included as standard in the

BBC Master The BBC Master is a home computer released by Acorn Computers in early 1986. It was designed and built for the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and was the successor to the BBC Micro, BBC Micro Model B. The Master 128 remained in produ ...

and

Acorn Business Computer The Acorn Business Computer (ABC) was a series of microcomputers announced at the end of 1983 by the British company Acorn Computers. The series of eight computers was aimed at the business, research and further education markets. Demonstrated at t ...

History

Acornsoft was formed in late 1980 by Acorn Computers directors Hermann Hauser and Chris Curry, and

David Johnson-Davies David Johnson-Davies is a British computer scientist and journalist. Early life and education David Johnson-Davies was born in London and has three children. He studied Experimental Psychology in Cambridge (where he currently resides), and ...

, author of the first game for a UK personal computer and of the official Acorn Atom manual "Atomic Theory and Practice". David Johnson-Davies was managing director and in early 1981 was joined by Tim Dobson, Programmer and Chris Jordan, Publications Editor. While some of their games were clones or remakes of popular arcade games (e.g. ''Hopper'' is a clone of

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

's ''

Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and manufactured by Sega. In North America, it was released by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct a series of frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and a hazardous rive ...

'', '' Snapper'' is

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

's ''

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

'', '' Arcadians'' is

's ''

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who ...

''), they also published a number of original titles such as ''Aviator'', ''

Elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

'', and '' Revs''. Acornsoft also published

text adventure '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

s by authors such as

Peter Killworth Professor Peter D. Killworth (27 March 1946 – 28 January 2008) was an English scientist known for his work on oceanography and on the study of social networks. A prolific writer, he published more than 160 scientific papers over the course o ...

, including ''Philosopher's Quest'' (previously titled ''Brand X'') and ''

Countdown to Doom ''Countdown to Doom'' is a text adventure game written by Peter Killworth for the BBC Micro and published by Acornsoft in 1982. It is set on the planet Doomawangara, which is coyly shortened to "Doom". An Acorn Electron version was released in 19 ...

''. As a result of the publication of a method to circumvent copy protection measures employed by Acornsoft titles, a High Court injunction against Computing Publications - publisher of

Personal Computer World ''Personal Computer World'' (''PCW'') (February 1978 - June 2009) was the first British computer magazine. Although for at least the last decade it contained a high proportion of Windows PC content (reflecting the state of the IT field), the mag ...

- was granted to Acorn Computers "requiring all copies of the January 1984 issue of PCW to be withdrawn from sale", with the article concerned being regarded as inciting readers to "duplicate computer programs". This injunction was subsequently lifted as a consequence of an out-of-court settlement between the parties involving a damages payment of £65,000 plus costs to Acorn "to meet Acorn's expenses in developing a new locking device". The article's author, Guy Kewney, and the magazine's editor, Jane Bird, argued that printing a software routine showing how to save Acornsoft cassette software to disk was a service to the magazine's readers. The cost of printing the magazine issue concerned was estimated at £100,000. Acornsoft became a subsidiary within Acorn Computer Group, distinct from Acorn Computers who were responsible for the development of Acorn's microcomputer systems, but Acornsoft ceased to operate as a separate company upon the departure of David Johnson-Davies in January 1986. Past this date, Acorn Computers used the Acornsoft name on office software it released in the ''VIEW'' family for the

series. In 1986

Superior Software Superior Software Ltd (also known as Superior Interactive) is a video game publisher. It was one of the main publishers for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in the 1980s and early 1990s. It currently releases games for Microsoft Windows ...

was granted a licence to publish some Acornsoft games and re-released many, individually and as compilations such as the ''Play It Again Sam'' and ''Acornsoft Hits'' series. By agreement, the Acornsoft name was also used on the packaging of some of the subsequent Superior games. Superior chose not to take on Acornsoft's

games, most of which were released in updated versions by

Topologika Topologika Software Ltd was an independent British publisher of educational software. Established in Stilton, Cambridgeshire in 1983, the company spent most of its life in Penryn, Cornwall before moving to Brighton, Sussex. The company was d ...

along with some sequels from the same authors. In 1997, Acorn sought to revive the Acornsoft brand for new software releases, such as upgrades to RISC OS, programming tools, a new Web browser, multitasking movie playback (using Acorn Replay), and Java for RISC OS. A stated objective was to demonstrate that a "wide range of innovative software at competitive prices" was available for RISC OS, with support also being potentially offered to third-party software producers. Acornsoft products themselves would be supported by marketing, including advertising, and the provision of press review samples.

Branding

Acornsoft titles extended their consistent branding to the software's

loading screen A loading screen is a screen shown by a computer program, very often a video game, while the program is loading (moving program data from the disk to RAM) or initializing. In early video games, the loading screen was also a chance for graphic ar ...

Select titles

* ''Acheton'' – A text adventure * '' Arcadians'' – A ''

'' clone * ''Aviator'' – A

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

. With aliens... * ''Black Box & Gambit'' - 2 board game type games which were the winning entries of a 'design a game' competition on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's '' The Saturday Show''. ''Black Box'' was a licensed version of the

Waddingtons Waddingtons was a British manufacturer of card games, card and board games. The company was founded by John Waddington of Leeds, England and the manager, actor and playwright Wilson Barrett, under the name ''Waddingtons Limited''. The name was c ...

game of the same name developed by Ben Finn who would go on to co-write

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

. ''Gambit'' was created by the

Oliver Twins Andrew Nicholas Oliver and Philip Edward Oliver, together known as the Oliver Twins, are British twin brothers and video game designers. They began to professionally develop computer games while they were still at school, contributing their fir ...

and their first commercially released game * ''Bouncer'' – A ''

Q*Bert ''Q*bert'' (also known as ''Qbert'') is an arcade video game developed and published for the North American market by Gottlieb in 1982. It is a 2D action game with puzzle elements that uses isometric graphics to create a pseudo-3D effect. The ...

'' clone * '' Business Games'' – An educational package * ''Carousel'' – A ''

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

'' clone * '' Castle of Riddles'' – A text adventure * ''

'' – A text adventure; first in a trilogy (although sequels ''Return to Doom'' and ''Last Days of Doom'' were not published by Acornsoft) * ''Crazy Tracer'' – An ''

Amidar ''Amidar'' is a video game developed by Konami and released in arcades in 1981 by Stern. The format is similar to that of ''Pac-Man'': the player moves around a fixed rectilinear lattice, attempting to visit each location on the board while a ...

'' clone * ''Creative Graphics'' – A series of graphical demonstrations of the BBC Micro's visual capabilities, with user editable code * ''Drogna'' – Strategy game based on a section of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

TV game show ''

The Adventure Game ''The Adventure Game'' is a game show that was originally broadcast on British television, UK television channels BBC One, BBC1 and BBC Two, BBC2 between 24 May 1980 and 18 February 1986. The story in each show was that the two celebrity conte ...

'' * ''

'' – A 3D space battle and trading game * ''Firebug'' – A platform and ladders game * ''Free Fall'' – Survival game set in an out of control space station * ''Gateway to Karos'' – A text adventure * ''Graphs and Charts'' – Graphical mathematical modelling * ''Hopper'' – A ''

'' clone * ''JCB Digger'' – A scrolling 2D dig-em-up * ''Kingdom of Hamil'' – A text adventure * ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

'' – A 2D maze based shoot-em-up * ''Magic Mushrooms'' – A platform and ladders game with built-in level editor * ''Meteor Mission'' – A ''

Lunar Rescue ''Lunar Rescue'' (ルーナー・レスキユー Runā Resukyū) is an arcade game released by Taito in November 1979. The gameplay has some resemblance to both Taito's own 1978 hit ''Space Invaders'' and Atari, Inc.'s ''Lunar Lander'' (release ...

'' clone * ''Meteors'' – An ''

Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

'' clone * ''Missile Base'' – A ''

Missile Command ''Missile Command'' is a 1980 shoot 'em up arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. and licensed to Sega for Japanese and European releases. It was designed by Dave Theurer, who also designed Atari's vector graphics game ''Tempest ...

'' clone * ''Monsters'' – A ''

Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal. Predating Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'', and lacking a jump mechanic, ''Space Panic'' was the first game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms. The genre was initially labeled as "climbi ...

'' clone * ''Philosopher's Quest'' – A text adventure * ''Planetoid'' – A '' Defender'' clone originally released as ''Defender'' * '' Revs'' – A

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

racing car

simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...

* ''Rocket Raid'' – A ''

Scramble Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Scramble'' (video game), a 1981 arcade game Music Albums * ''Scramble'' (album), an album by Atlanta-based band the Coathangers * ''Scrambles'' (album) ...

'' clone * '' Snapper'' – A ''

'' clone * ''Sphinx Adventure'' – A text adventure * ''

Starship Command Acornsoft's ''Starship Command'' is a multidirectional shooter released in 1983 for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. It was available on cassette as well as 5.25" disc for the BBC and ROM cartridge for the Acorn Electron Plus 1 expansion module. ...

'' – A 2D space battle game * ''Super Invaders'' – A ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter and set ...

'' clone * ''Volcano'' – A game in which you rescue people from the other side of an active

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

with a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

Acornsoft Games range

Including all arcade, text adventure and board games. All games were compatible with the

Model B. Games followed by ''Model A & B'' were compatible with both machines. Games followed by ''Electron'' were also released separately for the

. Games are listed by their catalogue numbers which are roughly the order of release of the BBC versions. *G01 Philosopher's Quest (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1984) *G02 Defender (''BBC'' 1982) deleted for legal reasons and later re-released as ''Planetoid'' *G02 Aviator (''BBC'' 1983) released with G26-G28 but re-used the deleted ''Defenders number *G03 Monsters (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1983) *G04 Snapper (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1983) *G05 Rocket Raid (''BBC'' 1982) *G06 Arcade Action (''BBC Model A & B'' 1982) 4 games: ''Invaders'', ''Breakout'', ''Dodgems'' and ''Snake'' *G07 Sphinx Adventure (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1984) *G08 Cube Master (''BBC'' 1982) *G09 JCB Digger (''BBC'' 1983) *G10 Chess (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1983) *G11 Maze (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1984) *G12 Sliding-Block Puzzles (''BBC'' 1982) *G13 Meteors (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1983) *G14 Arcadians (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1984) *G15 Planetoid (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1984) *G16 Super Invaders (''BBC'' 1982) *G17 Castle of Riddles (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1984) *G18 Missile Base (''BBC'' 1982) *G19 Countdown to Doom (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' ROM Cartridge 1984) *G20 Draughts & Reversi (''BBC Model A & B'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1983) *G21 Snooker (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1984) *G22 Starship Command (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1983) *G23 Hopper (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1984) *G24 Carousel (''BBC'' 1983) *G25 Kingdom of Hamil (''BBC'' 1983) *G26 Crazy Tracer (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1984) *G27 Drogna (''BBC'' 1983) *G28 Free Fall (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1984) *G29 Meteor Mission (''BBC'' 1984) *G30 Gateway to Karos (''BBC'' 1983) *G31 Boxer (''BBC'' 1984, ''Electron'' 1984) *G32 Tetrapod (''BBC'' 1984) *G33 Volcano (''BBC'' 1984) *G34 Black Box & Gambit (''BBC'' 1984) *G35 Bouncer (''BBC'' 1984) *G36 The Seventh Star (''BBC'' 1984) *G37 Acheton (''BBC'' 1984) *G38 Elite (''BBC'' 1984, ''Electron'' 1984) *G39 Firebug (''BBC'' 1984, ''Electron'' 1984) *G40 Quondam (''BBC'' 1984) *G41 Labyrinth (''BBC'' 1984) *G42 Go (''BBC'' 1984, ''Electron'' 1984) *G43 Revs (''BBC'' 1985) *G44 Revs 4 Tracks (''BBC'' 1985) extra tracks for the main game *G45 Elite original BBC Micro 6502 Second Processor version *G46 Magic Mushrooms (''BBC'' 1985, ''Electron'' 1985) *G47 Elite enhanced (''BBC'' 1986) incl. 6502 Second Processor and Master 128 versions There are also a number of completed but unreleased games that have found their way into the public domain such as ''

Crazy Balloon ''Crazy Balloon'' is an arcade video game released by Taito in 1980.Crazy Balloon
at Killer Li ...

'', ''Hellforce'' and ''Bandit'' that date from around 1983.

Acornsoft Education range

Acornsoft produced a wide range of educational titles aimed at many different age groups. *E01 Algebraic Manipulation (''BBC Model A & B'' 198?) *E02 Peeko-Computer (''BBC Model A & B'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *E03 Business Games (''BBC Model A & B'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) 2 games: ''Stokmark'' and ''Telemark'' *E04 Tree of Knowledge (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1983) *E05 Word Hunt (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *E06 Word Sequencing (''BBC Model A & B'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *E07 Sentence Sequencing (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *E08 Number Balance (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *E09 Missing Signs (''BBC Model A & B'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *E?? Speed and Light (''BBC'' 198?) *E?? Density and Circuit (''BBC'' 198?) *E12 Chemical Analysis (''BBC'' 198?) *E13 Chemical Simulations (''BBC'' 198?) *E14 Chemical Structures (''BBC'' 198?) *E15 Jars (''BBC'' 198?) *E16 Temperature Control Simulation (''BBC'' 1983) *E17 The Examiner (''BBC'' 198?) *E18 Spooky Manor (''BBC'' 198?) *E19 *E20 *E21 *E22 Talkback (''BBC'' 1984, ''Electron'' 1984) *E23 Workshop (''BBC'' 1984, ''Electron'' 1984) *E24 ABC (''BBC'' 1984) Acornsoft also published and distributed a range of educational software developed by ASK (Applied Systems Knowledge) that were widely used in schools running

s. These included ''

Podd ''Podd'' is an educational game for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron published by Acornsoft in 1984. The main character, Podd, teaches verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read ...

'' (find out which actions a red blobby character can perform (e.g. jump, smile, dance), ''Squeeze'' (a two player strategy game of squeezing shapes onto a board) and ''Cranky'' (solve maths problems to repair a living calculator). These titles were part of the Acornsoft catalogue but used a different code (XBE?? – all other Acornsoft titles began with S so the Education range on

cassettes would be SBE??). They ran on both the

Model B and

. The ''Ivan Berg Software'' range was also mainly educational but had its own distinct code (XBX??). This included the 6 ''Grandmaster Quiz''zes (Theatre, Crime & Detection, Music, History, Science Fiction and Royal), relationship aids ''"..I Do" Your Guide to a Happy Marriage'' and ''The Dating Game'' and GCE/CSE revision guides (Mathematics, Biology and English). Acornsoft also distributed other ranges of educational programs developed by companies such as ICL, Good Housekeeping and Bourne but they are not considered part of the official catalogue.

Acornsoft Business range

Acornsoft produced a range of office software for home and business use. *B01 Desk Diary (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *B02 Forecast (''BBC'' 198?) *B03 VIEW (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' ROM cartridge 1984) *B04 VIEW Printer Drivers (''BBC'' 198?) *B05 Personal Money Management (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1983) *B06 Database (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1984) *B07 ViewSheet (''BBC'' 1984, ''Electron'' ROM cartridge 1984) *B08 Invoicing (''BBC'' 1984) *B09 Mailing (''BBC'' 1984) *B10 Accounts Receivable (''BBC'' 1984) *B11 Stock Control (''BBC'' 1984) *B12 Order Processing (''BBC'' 1984) *B13 Accounts Payable (''BBC'' 1984) *B14 Purchasing (''BBC'' 1984) *B15 Hi-View (''BBC'' 19??) *B26 P-System (''BBC with 6502 Second Processor'') The series continues but mainly with add-on products for the ''VIEW'' word processor such as ''ViewIndex'' (an automatic index generator) and ''ViewSpell'' (spell-checker) as well as newer versions. View Professional (1987) was a combined wordprocessor, spreadsheet and database similar to PipeDream on the Z88. Although primarily a programming language suite, Acornsoft released its P-System product featuring

UCSD Pascal UCSD Pascal is a Pascal programming language system that runs on the UCSD p-System, a portable, highly machine-independent operating system. UCSD Pascal was first released in 1977. It was developed at the University of California, San Diego (UCS ...

and Fortran 77 compilers as part of its business range. Developed by TDI for Acornsoft, the product required a 6502 second processor and disc system, preferably with two drives. Despite the £299 price, various tools including an assembler and linker were omitted from the product, these being made available in a separate Advanced Development Toolkit from TDI.

Acornsoft Languages range

Acorn systems came with a version of the BBC BASIC programming language as standard but Acornsoft also produced a wide range of other languages that could be loaded in by cassette or disc or in some cases, supplied in ROM form. *L01 FORTH (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1983) *L02 ''

LISP A lisp is a speech impairment in which a person misarticulates sibilants (, , , , , , , ). These misarticulations often result in unclear speech. Types * A frontal lisp occurs when the tongue is placed anterior to the target. Interdental lisping ...

'' (''BBC'' 1982, ''Electron'' 1983, ''Electron'' ROM cartridge 1984) *L03 BCPL (''BBC'' 1983) *L04 Microtext (''BBC'' 1983) *L05 6502 Development System (''BBC'' 1985) *L06 ''

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

'' (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' ROM cartridge 1985) *L07 Turtle Graphics (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1984) *L08 S-Pascal (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1984) *L09 LISP Demonstrations (''BBC'' 1984) *L10 BCPL Calculations Package (''BBC'' 198?) *L11 *L12 BCPL Stand Alone Generator (''BBC'' 1983) *L13 FORTH – ROM version (''BBC'' 1984) *L14 LISP – ROM version (''BBC'' 1982) *L15 *L16 *L17 PROLOG Micro (''BBC'' 1985) *L18 ISO-Pascal (''BBC'' 1984, ''Electron'' ROM cartridge 1985) *L19 COMAL (''BBC'' 1984). *L20 *L21 *L22 BASIC Editor (''BBC'' 1985) *L23 Termulator (''BBC'' 1987) *L24 ISO-Pascal Stand Alone Generator (''BBC'' 198?) The relative performance of some of Acornsoft's languages was evaluated using a benchmark based on the Takeuchi function, ''

Tak Tak or TAK may refer to: Places * Dağdöşü or Tak, Azerbaijan, a village * Taq, Iran or Tak, a village * Tak province, Thailand ** Tak, Thailand, capital of the province Entertainment *'' Total Annihilation: Kingdoms'' or ''TA:K'' * Tak, ...

'' by former Acornsoft managing director,

, noting that "it is difficult to imagine a language that performs badly on ''Tak'' being much use for anything", illustrating a diversity amongst these language implementations in terms of readability, speed and generated code size. A follow-up article expanded the comparison to other language implementations such as Oxford Pascal, Z80 versions of BBC BASIC, Turbo Pascal and Small-C.

Acornsoft Graphics range and more

The graphics range was used to demonstrate the graphical power of the Acorn computers but only three titles were made available. The X?? code was then used for other types of software. *X01 Creative Graphics (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1983) *X02 Graphs & Charts (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1983) *X03 Picture Maker (''BBC'' 1983, ''Electron'' 1984) *X04

Shirley Conran Shirley Conran OBE (née Pearce; born 21 September 1932) is a British novelist and journalist. Early life Born in 1932, she attended St. Paul's Girls School, London, and then a finishing school in Switzerland which later provided some inspir ...

's Magic Garden (''BBC'' 1983) *X05 Collector's Catalogue (''BBC'' 198?) *X06 Membership Manager (''BBC'' 198?) *X07 One To Nine (''BBC'' 198?) *X08 Hooked on Numbers (''BBC'' 1983) *X09 *X10 Complete Cocktail Maker (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *X11

Paul Daniels Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series '' The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', whic ...

' Magic Show (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *X12 100 Programs for the BBC Micro (''BBC'' 198?) *X13 Linkword French (''BBC'' 1984) *X14 Linkword Italian (''BBC'' 1984) *X15 Linkword Spanish (''BBC'' 1984) *X16 Linkword German (''BBC'' 1984) *X17 Watch Your Weight (''BBC'' 198?, ''Electron'' 1984) *X18 Me & My Micro (''Electron'' 1984) The range took on various themes including ''Creative Sound'' (X26).

References

External links

Acornsoft information and list of games
– At The BBC Games Archive {{Acornsoft Acorn Computers Video game development companies Video game publishers Video game companies established in 1980 Video game companies disestablished in 1986 Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom 1980 establishments in England 1986 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1986 British companies established in 1980